Telefon Ringen til Norge

This morning I called to wish Happy Birthday to my host mom.

I also explained that tonight we would celebrate 17. mai – Norway's Constitution Day – at our church with a Scandinavian Dinner and Music. Dan would be one of two "torsk" masters and I would wear my Norwegian-inspired costume to welcome about 100 attendants and sing the Norwegian table prayer. Gunn told me to greet everyone and then turned me over to my host dad to talk about our upcoming Norway trip.

Many area people I know there want to connect during our last days of this tour. Uncertain, I asked his advice on scheduling. Svein suggested taking the train from Trondheim to Lillehammer.

There the two of them will meet us with a mini-bus – which he will lease and has a license to operate. They will show us around this 1994 Olympic city and its sites, drive us over to Hamar for a look along Lake Mjøsa, through Kongsvinger, and south into the community where they live and work.

They plan to house us at their lake cabin during our stay and will also show us around local points of interest, arrange a gathering and help us through Oslo and to the airport for our departure. He assured me that we can take into account everyone's well-being and stamina when we arrive and make final decisions at that time.

With "pappa's" assurance, I "let go" of these details and felt refreshed – having a clear picture of how to navigate through my responsibilities – after this Telephone Call to Norway.

Trip Tips

While we're struggling to see Spring here in Minnesota, my host sister emailed these gorgeous "Summer in Oslo" photos taken today outside the new Opera House.

She advised:

A "must see" on your sightseeing through Oslo City
in August! The roof is built like a large hill, coming all the way down to the fjord. (Hard to see in the picture). As you can see from the photo, people have already started having picnics up here. They lie in the sun and relax; or enjoy the view and a cup of coffee.


Notice the wonderful view of the Oslofjord! There will be a new tunnel also which will take care of all the traffic in the area. Then the fjord will be even more beautiful.

It's a Small World

My sister lives an away hour from me. The end of April, her church hosted an arts-and-craft show. One church member showed her rosemål work there. My sister suggested the woman should check out my blogs – particularly this one on my upcoming Norway trip. The woman did and left a comment on the post entitled Email Encouragment. Here's what I emailed back to Patti Goke.

Hei Patti!

Tusen takk for melding! Koselig til å høre om de norske forbindelsene dine. Takk for forslag om hvordan man skulle leie bil. Det skal jeg ordne ennå til turen vår.

Sorry it's been a while since my last Norway Bound entry. I've got a ton of other writing obligations I'm attending to at the moment. I plan to update this blog soon. We'll be on the Hurtigruten ship during our Geiranger Fjord visit and I believe it stops in Geiranger rather than Hellesylt. My husband and I rode the ferry from Geiranger to Hellesylt and back again in 1999. Unfortunately, we did not tour the community museum. I'd love to see the Peer Gynt carvings... we'll have to play it by ear as the ladies and I have our go this August.

Thanks again for the encouragement sparked by (my sister) Brenda. She knows I love connecting with other Nordic-interested folks. She mentioned you might write and that you'd asked where I'd studied in Norway.

I was at Øvrebyen videregående skole in Kongsvinger (near the Swedish border) as a high school exchange student. I spent my senior year of my UW-Eau Claire studies at Telemark distriktshøgskole (Telemarks Regional College) i Bø working on first year norsk grunnfag (foundational Norwegian) to finish out my Norwegian language and literature studies for my minor in Scandinavian Studies back home.


I've only dabbled in rosemåling at Skogfjorden – Concordia College's Norwegian Language Village in Bemidji. I've studied its history at various points in my life – including for an article I wrote in the Nov/Dec 07 issue of the Lake Country Journal Magazine on a Scandinavian Style house in the Nisswa area.

OH MY GOSH! I just reviewed those notes and realized YOU were the Myklebust's rosemåler! I have written about your incredible work – on their catwalk, front entry and range hood: "Næmen, har du sett på maken?" (Have you ever seen the likes?)

It truly is a small world.

Hilsen fra
Wendy

Cousin Tora

The long awaited letter from Cousin Tora arrived. She welcomed our group to the Trøndelag area and laid out a plan for our time with Grandma Lena's relatives as well as possibilities to see places dear to the woman who immigrated from Norway in 1904.

True to Norwegian hospitality, Tora urged us not to worry about lodging during these days because various relatives offered to keep us in their homes.

We are blessed – once again.

Voucher Delivery

Our cruise tickets arrived special delivery this morning – four months earlier than anticipated.

Perhaps writing a letter of appreciation to the supervisor of our travel agent expedited this process? I'm not sure.

But now, I can peruse the maps included in the packet and determine how to navigate our departure from the heart of Bergen as well as our landing in Trondheim.

Collection

"Just a note to let you know I've received envelopes from everyone. Thank you so much for helping fill in the blanks."

I wrote this in today's email to the journey's ladies.


I went onto explain about research on vehicle rental, train fares and schedules as well as the wait for a response from our Verdal-area relative. I closed the briefing:

God has a plan! I'm working hard to find it.
With this week's report,
Wendy

Sticker Shock

Vehicle rental prices in Norway are startling.

The lowest quote I received was for a three-day van rental. That would cover our needs during our stay in the Trondheim-Verdal area while visiting relatives and seeing places dear to Grandma Lena. The cost translates into $692 and includes 600 "free" kilometers or 372 miles. Gas costs translate to $8.94/gallon.

Of course, when we divide out these costs out between six people over three days, the price per person per day is less overwhelming. Nonetheless, we come to appreciate the relative "cheap" travel costs at home in the USA. We also understand the European push for public transportation.